fascia board, Plastic fascias, pvc fascia board, DIY Plastics, London, UK

UPVC Fascia boards, Soffit boards and Bargeboards

When you need to renew fascia boards, soffits and bargeboards or if you have a new build, the best option is to fit uPVC. normally available in white, uPVC fascia board and soffit material will save you a lot of maintenance and it always looks great - there is no need to repaint it every other year, just wiping it down with a damp cloth will bring it back to a glossy new condition.

Take care on houses that have fixings for the telephone and/or mains electricity, mounted on the fascia board, these services will need relocating onto any new uPVC fascia board that you fit, this relocation MUST to undertaken by an appropriately qualified person, so speak to them before you start.

Before starting on Fascia board replacement, he roof guttering will need to be removed first.

Safety!!
Replacing fascia boards, soffits or bargeboards means working at height and due care is necessary. It is not a job for a person on a ladder. Appropriate scaffolding is highly recommended.

When replacing a wooden fascia board, soffit or bargeboard, it is recommended that the old fascia boards, soffits and bargeboards are all removed. Some 'professionals' will clad over existing wood but this risk of trapping moisture could cause serious rot in the structure and lead to replacement again!

Types of board - different styles of board are available:

Cover Board & Fascia Board

Cover Board is, as the name suggests, for covering existing wooden fascias, whereas Fascia Board is intended to be used without a backing surface. Cover Board tends to be thinner as it is not acting solely as the structure, the main difference is that Fascia Board has a recess along the inner corner to locate the Soffit, whereas the inner corner of Cover Board is a plain right-angle.

Fascias and Soffits

Current building regulations require that ventilation is fiited in the soffit board for new buildings (equivalent to a one inch gap along the whole perimeter), although not absolutely necessary, when fitting replacement soffit, it is worth considering fitting ventilated soffit to improve ventilation of the roof void.

If you need to replace wooden fascia boards, this probably indicates that the building is 20 years or more old and, where fitted, the roofing felt under the tiles should be checked at the eaves. Felt often deteriorates at this point and, if necessary, it should be replaced up to the first batten (or, as a minimum, 12 inches (300 mm). When fitting new felt, make sure that it projects about 3 inches (75 mm) over the fascia and is fitted under the existing felt so that any water run off goes over the new felt rather than under it.

Points to remember:

Allow 5 mm clearance at each end of the material to allow for expansion.
Fit a cover strip at each joint and corner.
Before starting to fix a length of fascia or cover board, clear a whole side of the building of guttering etc. and fix a horizontal builders string line along the side of the building so that all sections of board can be levelled to the same line.

The new fascia should be pushed up under the ends of the tiles and levelled before fixing, it's easier to get the fascia straight if the lowest row of tiles can be pushed up out of the way while the fascia is positioned and fixed. Fix the fascia using plastic headed stainless steel ring nails (specifically designed for the job), use two nails vertically at 600 mm horizontal centres. Position the nails vertically so that they spread the load, one near the top of the surface behind, one near the bottom. Keep the vertical position of the nails constant between horizontal positions otherwise the line of nails will look a mess.

The building side of the replacement soffit board can be fixed Into a upvc channel fixed to the wall of the house. This channel is screwed to a wooden batten fixed above the soffit board to the wall of the house at the top of the outer brickwork using either a batten down from the rafters or a structural glue between the soffit board and the top of the wall.

As mentioned above, to do the job properly, the original timber fascia boards, soffit and bargeboard should be removed before fitting replacements.

• Any rot in the ends of the rafter should be repaired using good quality timber treated with preservative.

• Make sure that any old nails in the ends of the rafters are removed (or knocked in below the surface).

• The eaves felt should be checked and repaired.

• Fix the fascia to the ends of the rafters using plastic headed stainless steel ring nails, with the first set of tiles pushed up, locating the ends of the rafters is easier.

Bargeboard

Cladding Bargeboards with uPVC is similar to cladding fascias, the main difference is that some cutting of sheet uPVC will be necessary to shape around the eaves end.

Guttering

Gutter Support

Gutter support spacing should NOT EXCEED 900mm. Roofs with a pitch exceeding 35° and/or with SMOOTH SURFACES and/or are subject to HEAVY SNOW LOADING, should have support spacing NOT EXCEEDING 600mm. Various gutter angles incorporate fixing positions which can be drilled for fixing. If the angle is fixed to the fascia board, adjacent support brackets should be no more than 900mm away. If the angle is not fixed the brackets should be no more than 150mm away.

Fitting Gutters

To snap the gutter section into the support fittings, first push the rear edge of the gutter up hard under the rear retaining clip of the fitting. Then pull the front edge of the gutter out and down with one hand, and the front edge of the support fitting out and down with the other hand, while pushing the front retaining clip over the front edge of the gutter with the thumbs, until the gutter snaps into place.

Thermal Movement Allowance

When each length of gutter has been snapped into position check that each end is not inserted into the fitting beyond the ‘EXPANSION ALLOWANCE’ line. This allows the gutter to move with changes in temperature without distortion.

To ensure the joint remains intact, each gutter fitting should be fixed to the fascia board or rafter bracket wherever possible.

Downpipe Installation

Downpipe installations must allow for thermal movement. This allowance should be approximately 10mm at the top of each 65mm and 68mm pipe section.

Spigot to socket joints in the 65mm and 68mm systems require the insertion of a piece of pipe of length equal to socket depth to produce a secure fit.

Installation Sequence

Commence the assembly of the downpipe by fabricating an offset from the gutter outlet to wall using a top and bottom offset bend connected by a length of pipe cut to suit the soffit depth of the building. The 110mm and 160mm offset bend sockets must be solvent welded to the pipe.

Insert a piece of pipe, with a length at least equal to socket depth, and to suit fascia depth, into the top offset bend socket, and fit tightly underneath the running outlet. Secure the bottom offset bend to the wall with a bracket so that the entire assembly is a solid fit under the outlet.

Fit the downpipe working from the top. When the pipe is 65mm or 68mm place the bottom end into a downpipe connector, and secure the connector to the wall using a pipe and fitting bracket, leaving a 10mm thermal movement allowance at the top. Secure 110mm and 160mm pipe at the top using a pipe and fitting bracket under the socket shoulder. The lower end of this pipe must be inserted 10mm less than the full socket depth when connecting the next pipe or fitting

Fit additional lengths of pipe or fittings using the same principle to achieve the thermal movement allowance at top or bottom depending on downpipe size. Secure with a bracket at each fitting or socket, and on the pipe as necessary to ensure support at centres no greater than 2m.

Downpipes Exceeding 10m in height

Galvanised metal brackets MUST be used to support the installed weight of 110mm and 160mm systems of height greater than 10m.

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